Category Archives: applique

The First Leaf and First Light Framed

Posted on by under Announcements, applique, nuno felting

The framers have completed framing on two of my recent pieces. These will be going to 4 Ravens Gallery in Missoula and should be available after February 14th.

Framed textile artwork depicting birch trees in autumn.
The First Leaf – 14″ x 18.5″ – Framed – Available – $450.00

This one based on birch trees in autumn, is called The First Leaf. I love the texture of the nuno felt against the smoothness of the birch trunks. The birch trunks are made from silk paper.

Framed textile artwork depicting trees at dawn with light coming from behind.
First Light – 13″ x 19″ – Framed – Available – $450.00

First Light is all about how the morning sun reacts in the forest. The color palette was an interesting change for me but I enjoyed the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers Inspired by Rebecca Crompton

Posted on by under applique, hand stitching, Level 3 Stitch, nuno felting

One of our assignments for Level 3 Stitch was to create a piece inspired by Rebecca Crompton. She was an embroidery teacher in Great Britain in the early 20th century. You can read more about her on the V&A site and see some of her work.

Nuno Felted sample with grey wool and red/green silk in woven pattern

As I was thinking about what to create, I came across this old sample of nuno felting in my stash. I was thinking of gardens and flowers (Rebecca Crompton has several garden themed pieces.) I thought this would work for a background piece.

Nuno Felt stitched with Kantha stitch in hand dyed wool lace weight threads.

I decided to add some base stitching. I used hand dyed lace weight wool thread with running stitch.

Applique fabric pieces applied to stitched surface of nuno felt.

The next step was finding different fabric for the flower elements. I cut out various flower shapes and tried them out in a variety of places on the background. I wanted the colors to move throughout the piece but for it to all feel cohesive. Now to stitch them in place. I could have fused them down but I don’t like the way fusing flattens everything. I prefer raw edges, a bit of fraying and texture.

Completed piece of nuno felt, stitching and hand stitched applique

Here is the final result. I added a few French knots and couched down a bit of yarn for the branch at the top left. This isn’t my usual style but I enjoy the movement and liveliness of the piece.

Ponderosa Pine Applique

Posted on by under applique, hand stitching, Level 3 Stitch, machine stitching

I have always loved the bark on the Ponderosa pines. It has great texture and the pieces that slough off look like puzzle pieces. Needless to say, I have a collection of those.

Here’s a photo of the Ponderosa pine bark. Not only great texture, but interesting colors and shapes.

Here’s a photo of the resulting applique I created based on bark. I used a felt background with inclusions to give more volume to the raised areas. I then added a variety of silk applique and stitched down with hand dyed wool thread in a variety of colors. I then machine stitched the background to flatten those areas and give the piece more depth.

Shades of Green Applique

Posted on by under applique, hand stitching, Level 3 Stitch

For one of my applique projects in Level 3 Stitch, I decided to use a nuno felted background and create a piece similar to the ones that I make to sell in a gallery. Here’s the beginning of Shades of Green. Guess what? It reminded me of a forest, so on to the applique.

I added silk organza for the tree trunks, a mix of chopped up fabric for the leaves and stitching for the highlights. The finished piece was framed and is now hanging in my hallway.

Thanks for stopping by!

Marsh Applique

Posted on by under applique, hand stitching, Level 3 Stitch

Here is another piece that I completed in Level 3 Advanced Studies in Experimental Stitch class.

This is what the piece started with. Mainly deconstructed screen printed fabric and a few pieces of shibori dyed fabric. It needed more so on to layering and stitching.

Here’s the finished piece and I have called this one, Marsh. It’s kind of amazing what layers of fabric can do to change the look of a piece.